When was the last time that you were able to sit down for a meal at your kitchen table without pushing papers or stuff aside? Or go to bed without moving clothes off the bed, floor, or chair? 

Take a look near your back door. Is there a pile of shoes, gloves, and hats? Or maybe old mail that you haven’t looked through in months? How about your desk – or wherever you work these days – are there dusty piles of papers, files, and projects? 

First – there is no judgment here if you said ‘yes’ to every question.

Been there. Cluttered that.

But I do want you to know something: All that clutter is costing you. 

What? Costing me? It’s only piles of stuff and other than being a bit of an embarrassing mess when someone comes over (and in these times of Covid, not many people are), what’s the big deal?

Costs of Clutter for Adult ADHD

Before I jump into the costs, let me say this… clutter = disorganization. EVEN IF you believe that you know exactly where everything is, clutter and disorganization are costing you.

Now let’s talk costs:

• Late fees and missed opportunities. When you can’t find those bills, you end up not paying on time which results in a late fee. Can’t find the invites? You’re missing out on some major fun.
  
• Wasted time. Looking for all your stuff takes so much time. Even if you know what pile it is in.
  
• Outta sight outta mind. If you cannot see it, you will forget about it which also leads to late fees and missed opportunities.
  
• Confusion / frustration. Harder to know where to start and figure out what to do next when you’re just standing there looking at stuff.
  
• Distraction. Things lying around will catch your eye and pull you off track more easily.
   
• Overwhelm. Disorganization makes it harder to focus, make decisions and take action. When you get overwhelmed, ADHD makes it nearly impossible to make progress on anything.
  
• Shame / negative self-talk. As one of my former ADHD coaching clients, Sean, so eloquently put it, “When I look at the piles and the clutter, it reinforces my belief that I’m a failure. That I have no hope of ever getting a handle on managing my ADHD. Everywhere I look I see what a loser I am.”

The ugly fact is the cost of clutter can block the steps you can take to get organized and solve the problem once and for all. 

If you’re looking around your office or home right now and see clutter, I invite you to check out Clutter Free with ADHD with practical, ADHD-friendly ways to attack clutter – how to clear it and keep it away. 

Keep Learning:

• Episode #52 of Kick Some ADHD podcast – Your Clutter is Costing You
• Episode #53: Crack Your Clutter Conundrum
• The Joys of Living Clutter-Free

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